Surprise
by Avelyn Lauren
Summary: Final chapter uploaded! This is a Christmas with a christian theme. I was told that it was no surprise but you really have to wait until the second chapter before the surprise comes. Syaoron returns after 6 years only to be transported to.....
1. Meetings

Okay I know that it appears that I have been busy with my writing and I have. I have enjoyed two of the most relaxing days off that I've had in a long time. All my stories are caught up so now I'm working on Christmas stories. I even did two chapters on We meet again.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I believe that clamp does.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Sakura had just finished putting the decorations on the tree with Touya when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it Oniichan." Sakura ran to the door. Tomoyo was standing there along with Li and Eriol.  
  
"Konichewa! You ready for some hot chocolate. She noted the wind outside was a bit nippier than any of them liked.  
  
"Yeah we are." They all stepped into the house. Syaoron sent a silent message with his eyes to her.  
  
"Don't worry. Oniichan has to be at work in 30 minutes." She said to him.  
  
She could hear him let out a breath. Something was up because he was nervous around her for some reason.  
  
Touya walked into the kitchen. "What is the gaki doing here?" He glared at the group.  
  
"It's Christmas and he's my friend." She answered sweetly.  
  
"Kaijuu why would you want a friend like that?" Touya asked her irritated.  
  
"I'm not a Kaijuu!" She stepped on his foot as hard as she could.  
  
He hopped past them muttering curses about something. "Ja, Touya!" They waved to him as he went out the door.  
  
"When did you guys get back?" She jumped into Tomoyo's arms giving her a hug. Eriol chuckled as she looked up at him. He had always been taller than her by a foot or two it seemed anyways. He pulled her to his chest and hugged her. Syaoron came up behind her pulling her off of Eriol to give her a hug from behind. He lifted her off the ground causing her to screech with glee slightly.  
  
When Syaoron was finished hugging her she was getting ready to make the hot cocoa when she heard, "Aren't they so kawaii?" Syaoron and Sakura both sweat dropped.  
  
"Err. Tomoyo you can put the camera away now. I'm just making hot cocoa." Sakura commented pointedly at the camera.  
  
Li smiled. "You guys go into the living room I'll stay in here." He stated. "Oh and Tomoyo leave the camera in here." He requested as a second thought. He didn't trust when it came to that camera. In fact none of them did.  
  
She did just that. She didn't want to do that. "Eriol I don't want to leave my camera here."  
  
He laughed. "Come on sweetheart. He hasn't seen her in 6 years. I heard him talking about her the whole time that we were on the plane. Either that or he was ringing his hands together." Eriol led Tomoyo out of the room.  
  
"Why does Hiiragaziwa have to do that?" He muttered under his breath.  
  
Sakura laughed at him. "I never knew you to be that nervous." She thought for a minute, "in fact I've never seen you nervous. You always cover it up."  
  
"You wouldn't have known if he hadn't said anything." Syaoron looked at her dead serious.  
  
He took the cup out of her hand that she was getting ready to pour hot water in. "Syao-kun." she couldn't go on.  
  
"Saku'-chan." He whispered right by her ear before he pulled her into his arms for another hug.  
  
She smiled on his shoulder. "I missed you Syao." She whispered. Before she knew what was going on he kissed her and she was kissing him back.  
  
"Hey! What's taking so long with the hot chocolate!" Eriol entered the kitchen with Kero.  
  
Sakura her face in Syaoron's chest. "What is the gaki doing here!" Kero yelled in his ears.  
  
"Kero be nice or you won't get any pudding." She threatened. Kero pouted.  
  
Li looked at him before muttering, "Stuffed animal."  
  
Yukito walked into the kitchen to find Li's arms wrapped around Sakura and glaring at Kero. Eriol was in the kitchen as well smirking at the couple standing there.  
  
"Konichewa Li." He chuckled at the sight of a very red Sakura. "So did you kiss her yet?" He asked.  
  
"He looked like he was mauling her!" Kero growled at the man holding his mistress.  
  
Sakura wished she could disappear. "That's it no pudding for you." She muttered darkly.  
  
"But Sakura!" he protested before they all went to the living room with the hot chocolate. Tomoyo was just about to get up to see what the hold up was when the rest of the crew came into the living room.  
  
"What took you guys so long and did you bring my camera?" She inquired.  
  
"Well it seems that Yukito decided to stop by." Li tried to get the conversation going in another direction. It didn't work.  
  
"I walked in on him holding her tightly in his arms." Yukito chuckled at the sight.  
  
"Oh I missed it! Why did you have me leave my camera in there!" She yelled in Li's ear.  
  
Eriol pulled her back. "Sweetheart you need to take it easy. I'm sure he didn't hurt her."  
  
Kero looked at her. "He only mauled her."  
  
"Sakura he kissed you!" Everyone sweat dropped in the room.  
  
"I think that I'm ready to go and change weren't we getting ready to go somewhere." She asked taking the moment to leave the room.  
  
"Wait Sakura I have an out fit that I want you to wear." Tomoyo ran after her.  
  
When they were outside they were greeted by slurries of snow that hadn't been there earlier. As they stepped into the snow everything turned white.  
  
- - -  
  
I know that this is a little shorter than I usually try to do but it's just an extra story that I'm playing with. Christmas isn't even a month away now so it won't be a long story. I still have to work one for Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. 


	2. Angels

"Wait Sakura I have an out fit that I want you to wear." Tomoyo ran after her.  
  
When they were outside they were greeted by slurries of snow that hadn't been there earlier. As they stepped into the snow everything turned white.  
  
Okay to whomever my anonymous reviewer was.  
  
I appreciate your honest review. I'm sorry that the way the story was written drives you crazy. I hope you don't mind interpreting what you said in Japanese to English for me. I'm only learning to write in Japanese now. Oh and could you teach me how to write in Japanese? The surprise comes on chapter 2. In the first chapter I had to get them all in the same place.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
They stepped into the slurries of snow not knowing what was about to happen.  
  
Sakura and Syaoron woke to find themselves amidst nothing but sand. "Where are we?" Sakura muttered while spitting sand out of her mouth.  
  
"I don't know." Syaoron answered. He tried wiping sand off of his face not succeeding very well.  
  
Sakura stood and looked at the area around her. All she could see was sand. It was really hot out here. She didn't remember it being that hot when she stepped outside. Sakura spotted something in the distance. "Look over there. Maybe we can find something from that group of people one the camels."  
  
Syaoron led the way to the caravan of people. "Excuse me sir I was wondering if you could help me?" He asked in Japanese.  
  
The man seemed as if he couldn't understand what was said.  
  
Sakura repeated the question in Chinese. The man seemed to understand a little better. Li looked at her grateful that they could find a language in common with these people. "Could you tell us where we are at? We seem to be lost."  
  
The man answered them back. "Your caravan lost you? Why would they leave you behind?"  
  
"That was our fault. We forgot the time." Li looked at one of the men that were giving Sakura a look that he didn't like. "My wife and I can get a little distracted at times." He put meaning behind the word wife.  
  
The man that had been looking at Sakura now looked elsewhere. "You can travel with us." A kind looking man nodded. "It's not safe to travel out here without a group of people with you; it might take you a little out of your way but.."  
  
He didn't have to finish what he was saying. Syaoron and Sakura understood that it was dangerous to travel alone. Syaoron looked at Sakura hoping for a nod of affirmation before he spoke for the both of them. "Thank you. We would appreciate that very much."  
  
-Eriol and Tomoyo-  
  
Eriol shook his head. He couldn't see because there was something all over his glasses. Eriol took off his glasses and tried to clean them still finding some kind of gritty substance that felt like sand. "Let me see them Eriol." Tomoyo requested.  
  
"Are you alright Tomoyo?" He questioned.  
  
"I'm fine. It's a good thing that I carry wipes in my purse." She commented as she handed back his glasses.  
  
Eriol finally being able to see looked all around them. They were in a town filled with little houses. Luckily they were in an alley way where they couldn't be seen at the moment because they looked really out of place here. Eriol glanced at Tomoyo, "Follow my lead. I think that if we don't get some clothes that actually fit in this time period then we will be in a lot of trouble."  
  
Eriol led the way out of the alley to one of the clothing stands. "Excuse me," he tried in Japanese. The person just looked at him strangely. He tried again in Chinese and then Arabic.  
  
The man understood the Arabic. Eriol then explained that he and Tomoyo had traveled from a distant country and that they had forgotten to get the proper currency. After the long discussion he was handed a lavender tunic looking thing for Tomoyo and a blue one for him.  
  
"What did you say to him?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"I told him that we were distant travelers and that we had lost all our currency when we were mugged." Eriol handed the lavender tunic to her.  
  
"We'll go over to this house and see if they will allow us to change." He pointed to a house where a thirteen year old girl sat playing her mandolin.  
  
Tomoyo was allowed to enter the house first to change while Eriol waited out front for her. He watched as the girl played her mandolin quietly.  
  
Tomoyo came out allowing Eriol to change. They thanked the young girl or at least she seemed to be a young girl. They didn't seem to think that she was anything but.  
  
An angel appeared to the young girl. "Greetings you who are highly favoured. The Lord is with you."  
  
The young woman looked really confused at the sight of the angel. The angel looked at her and saw the confusion on her face. "Do not be afraid Mary. You have found favor with God. You are to be with child and bare a son. You shall call him Jesus. He will be great and be called the son of the most high. The Lord will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign in the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."  
  
Mary looked at the angel in awe. "But how can this be? I have not known a man."  
  
The angel responded. "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most high will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born of you shall be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is with child in her old age and she who is said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." The angel bowed his head to her.  
  
Mary was on her knees in awe of the angel. "I am the Lord's servant. Let it be as you said." The angel then disappeared before her.  
  
"Eriol what happened?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"I think that she just had a divine visitor." Eriol gave the angel the honor that it deserved with those few words.  
  
-Later that night-  
  
Syaoron laid with Sakura under a cloak that was loaned to them. "Syao- kun; why did you tell them that I was your wife?" Sakura asked cuddling to her 'husband.'  
  
"I didn't like the way some of the men were looking at you. If they thought that we were already married then they would keep their hands off." He answered as he held closer.  
  
As they were talking the two felt something different in the air. "Magic." They whispered at the same time. They also decided simultaneously that it wasn't.  
  
An angel appeared to at the time with a chorus of angels singing a chorus of unheard music. Everyone that was around was afraid. The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will bring joy to the whole world. Today in the city of David a Savior has been born unto you as a sign to all. You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths.  
  
The angels behind the speaking one were saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men who favor rests."  
  
The angels disappeared into the night just as suddenly as the showed up.  
  
- - -  
  
Okay guys this is the last of this chapter. I used the references from the NIV bible in Luke 1:26-38 for the first scene and the second scene was Luke 2:8-16. The story has been told many times, by many people and different ways. In the end we find that this is what Christmas is really about. God gave us the ultimate gift for our life. 


	3. Travels

In the previous chapter:  
  
Eriol, Tomoyo, Sakura, and Syaoron have been transported to the time of the Bible when baby Jesus is born. Syaoron and Sakura find themselves in the middle of a desert alone when a caravan of people shows up. I should have mentioned that they were the wise men as they were called but I seem to have forgotten to place that information in the story.  
  
Eriol and Tomoyo found themselves in an alley way in a town. They manage to get clothes and go to a young girl's house. The two changed finding an angel talking to the girl called Mary. She was informed that she was to bear a child and he was to be called Immanuel.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them! I only write about them. I believe that clamp owns Cardcaptor Sakura.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Tomoyo and Mary were riding on the mules that Eriol and Joseph had bartered for befor4e they left town. Joseph was leading there way seeing that he was the only one that knew where they were going.  
  
Ceasar had given the order that all men were required to go to their hometown for a consensus.  
  
"Mary-chan," Tomoyo asked, "how does it feel to carry such an important child?"  
  
"It's an honor Tomoyo. It's just scary because I will be taking care of God's child. What if I do something wrong?" Mary wondered out loud.  
  
The two women fell silent after a while. "What about you Joseph-kun? I know it can't be easy to find out that you're fiancée is pregnant and it not be your child." Eriol questioned.  
  
"When she told me that she was pregnant with God's child I was going to divorce her. I thought that she had known a man." Joseph stopped for just a moment, "An angel appeared tome in my dream that night and told that it was alright that Mary had not been unfaithful to me."  
  
"How can you divorce her if you haven't married her? How can she not know a man? She knows who you are." Tomoyo looked at the couple in front of them couple in front of them.  
  
Mary looked at the couple behind them strangely. "You have known a man and yet you're riding on a jackass with your husband taking you with us?"  
  
"I don't think that is what she meant." Eriol countered before things got out of hand. "Where we come from you can't divorce people that you are not married to. Also where we come from we all know men and women just I don't think it is on terms that you are thinking of."  
  
"Oh." Mary understood. "In this land an engagement is just like a marriage. It is just as binding as a marriage. When we 'know a man' that is when a husband and a wife become united as one."  
  
"Of course they would be unified as..." Tomoyo had turned beet red when it finally fully donned on her what it meant. "Oh."  
  
Eriol laughed, "You look pretty like that." Eriol told her in Japanese making her turn even redder.  
  
Mary and Joseph had stopped to watch the couple interact in a foreign tongue that she didn't know. Mary tried to look away and not laugh at the tomato-red Tomoyo that was before them. Joseph was laughing at them as well also as the travelers passed by them. The road wasn't as busy as it had been.  
  
"How far do we have left to go?" Mary inquired.  
  
"Just a couple of hours." Joseph looked at his wife.  
  
"Mary-chan we'll be there soon." Tomoyo encouraged. She had seen the look of pain cross her face.  
  
By the time they arrived in town Mary was in the middle of contractions. Mary was having to hold on to Joseph for support. "Mary do you have to squeeze so hard?"  
  
"Do you want to have this baby?" Mary asked between clenched teeth.  
  
Joseph cringed at the glare that she gave her with her usually placid face. "No dear."  
  
Eriol laughed. "Did you expect her to have an easy birth?"  
  
"She's having God's son. Yes I did." Joseph retorted.  
  
Tomoyo rolled her eyes. Eriol was the only one that had seen it though.  
  
"Mary I'm going to find us a place to stay." Joseph left her side looking rather worried about doing so.  
  
Eriol took his place with little prodding from Tomoyo. "Mary-chan you're going to make it." He encouraged.  
  
"Men! They are always making things that they don't understand a lot simpler than they are." Mary stated as she went into another contraction.  
  
Joseph returned an hour later. He looked a little less than encouraged. "They didn't have anything. All the rooms in town are occupied."  
  
"Did you find anything at all Joseph-kun?" Tomoyo asked quietly.  
  
"There was one man that offered us the stable to sleep in." Joseph replied a little hopefully.  
  
"Well at least it's a start." Eriol moved so that Joseph could take his place beside his wife.  
  
"I know. She's ready to have this baby." Tomoyo agreed.  
  
-Syaoron and Sakura-  
  
The camel they sat on swayed back and forth as it walked through the ht and very sandy desert. Syaoron sat behind Sakura in the seat placed on the camels back. The rest if the camels were being used to carry the supplies and such that these men needed.  
  
"This must be a very important birth for angels to be singing in the sky." Sakura spoke as she leaned against Syaoron trying to keep her balance on the beast.  
  
"I'll say. How did we get here in the first place?" Syaoron wondered a=out loud. They were whispering to each other now so as to have no one hear them. These people didn't need to know that the couple wasn't married or the fact that they came from another place altogether. Sakura and Syaoron weren't sure but they were beginning to think that it was a different time.  
  
"I don't know all I remember is that we were getting ready to go out and do something. We stepped into that blizzard. I don't remember seeing a report for snow anywhere on that day." Sakura answered. She could feel his breath on her neck as he held on to the reigns.  
  
Syaoron placed an arm around her and held her closer than he had been that morning. She was getting used to having Syaoron holding her. He didn't have time to respond to her before one of the men that had been watching them came up to the couple. "We should eat now. It'll be evening soon."  
  
"Tell us about the birth f this child and why it is so important." Syaoron requested after there were helped off the camel.  
  
"This child is born to be the Messiah. He will save us all from ourselves. He is to be born of a virgin. He will give is his life for us in the end. It is a common belief that he will overthrow the tyrannous government. To be honest though we don't what to expect." The man informed them while they ate.  
  
"How long before we arrive there?" Sakura wondered out loud.  
  
"Not long now. There is something different in the air." The man noted out loud.  
  
"There is isn't there." The couple whispered acknowledging that they already knew.  
  
"You are to be careful. There is something about you two that can get you in a lot of trouble if you're not careful." The man warned before he left he added. "Your wife as you call her is unique keep her safe."  
  
"I will."  
  
"We'll arrive in the morning." The man informed them before he left there said.  
  
"Let's get some sleep! I can't wait to see this child." Sakura whispered under her breath.  
  
-Tomoyo and Eriol-  
  
Tomoyo had helped to set up the trough to bed a baby that was about to be born. The donkeys, cows and sheep had been moved around the sides of the building. Mary was crowning as they spoke. "This baby is coming Mary." Joseph was delivering the child while Eriol encouraged her in the pushing. Tomoyo was on the other side as Mary pushed. After a few minutes the baby Jesus had come out and gave the cry of healthy boy.  
  
"Mary," Joseph wiped the brow of his sweating wife. "Jesus has arrived."  
  
"Let me hold Him." She requested holding out her arms to hold the long awaited Savior.  
  
Eriol and Tomoyo looked at each other and then at the couple that were new parents. This was one happy night for all of them. Mary soon fell asleep with her new baby by her side.  
  
The following morning there was a group of people that came through asking about the birth of a newborn child. They were led to the stable where all of them had slept. Syaoron and Sakura out of respect for what was going on only bowed to the couple that they had been wondering about.  
  
The men came forward and presented as gifts gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gifts were accepted with honor by the new parents as they worshipped who would one day save the entire world.  
  
-Later that day-  
  
"Mary-chan it was a great honor to travel with you. Thank you for the opportunity." Tomoyo bowed before the mother of Jesus.  
  
"Thank you Tomoyo for your support in all that happened. Most people wouldn't have believed what we saw even with their own eyes."  
  
Eriol also bowed. "Joseph-kun, Mary-chan you must never doubt what happened here. You take good care of this blessed baby." Eriol kissed the baby's forehead as did everyone else before they took their leave.  
  
Out of the town they finally asked the question that had been buried in their minds since this whole incredible journey had begun. "How do we get home?"  
  
There was no need to worry about that. A few miles into the desert there was a whirling vortex of wind and sand gong round and round. "That's how we get home." Sakura announced out loud.  
  
-At home-  
  
The four found themselves lying on the cold ground in front of Sakura's door. Sakura couldn't resist teasing Syaoron. "So how's my husband?"  
  
Syaoron whispered back to her just as low, "He's just fine and pulled her into a tight embrace.  
  
Eriol and Tomoyo watched the whole scene with amusement. "Ah aren't they so kawaii?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Yeah they are." Eriol responded.  
  
- - - -  
  
I have been so busy that I have been working on this chapter for two days. I can't wait to see if somebody actually reviews this story. I know that I'm not doing this particular story for reviews though. I never do any of them for reviews. I just look forward to reading them though. I did this because I wanted to get the true Christmas story out there for those people who don't know what Christmas actually means. I will be doing one more chapter for this story but it will tell the whole story from the Bible. I rushed this a little bit and I know that there are some facts that are just as important to understand if you don't know your history. I know that before I was saved that I didn't understand what this season is really about. I want everybody to know that it is not just about presents. 


	4. True Story

Gomen for this chapter being so late on this story. I meant to have this chapter finished three days ago. I've been very busy preparing the baked goodies as well as cleaning the house today. My house dreadfully needed it.  
  
Anyways, I informed you that this chapter would be about the history and the story behind what I wrote for this story. I wasn't concentrating so much on our favorite characters. I was concentrating on the characters that I will be telling you about in this final chapter. I hope you enjoy the story.  
  
Disclaimer: Just like I don't own Cardcaptor; I don't own this one. This is just an important story!  
  
Duckyinsane: I like your name. There are either two things behind it though. One is that it is German for Thank you and the other is that there is a duck insane somewhere. (Sorry just making an observation don't want you to kill me.)  
  
I want to thank you for all the support that you gave me and letting me know that there were people reading just not reviewing. That is alright though because I thank them as well. This chapter is however dedicated to God and to you because you were the only one that reviewed the story. I will be hunting down one of yours and reviewing it soon. I look forward to reading your work. Happy New Years, arigato and ja ne!  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us. Just as they were handed down to us by witnesses and servants of the Lord. Therefore since I myself have carefully investigated every thing from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things that you have been taught.  
  
The birth of John the Baptist foretold  
  
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of the God, observing all of the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they gad be children because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.  
  
Once Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as a priest before God, he was chosen by lot according to the custom of priesthood. To go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense, when the time for the burning of incense came all assembled worshippers were praying outside.  
  
Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the alter of incense. When Zechariah saw him he was gripped with fear. The angel saw this and said unto him, "Do not be afraid Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and a delight to you and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the lord their God. He will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and the power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the father's to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-to make a people ready prepared for the lord."  
  
Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."  
  
The angel answered. "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. Now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that this happens, because you did not believe my words which will come true at the proper time."  
  
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized that he had seen a vision. For he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.  
  
When his time of service was completed he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he ahs shown his favor and taken away my disgrace from among the people."  
  
The birth of Jesus foretold  
  
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth of Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."  
  
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting that this was. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, fop you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord god will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign in the house of David forever; his kingdom will never end."  
  
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "when I know not a man?"  
  
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born of you will be called the son of God. Even Elizabeth, your relative, is with child in her old age, and she who is said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with god."  
  
"I am the lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be as you have said." Then the angel left her.  
  
Mary visits Elizabeth  
  
At that time Mary got ready for and hurried to a town in the hill of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed, "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child that you will bear. But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed what the Lord has said unto her will be accomplished!"  
  
Mary's Song  
  
And Mary said:  
  
My soul glorifies the Lord and my heart rejoices in God my Savior for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant/  
  
From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the mighty one has done great things for me-holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation.  
  
He ahs performed might deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their innermost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.  
  
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said this unto our fathers."  
  
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.  
  
The birth of John the Baptist  
  
When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy and they shared in her joy.  
  
On the eighth day the came to circumcise the child and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said,, "No! He shall be called John."  
  
They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives that has that name."  
  
Then they made signs to her father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosened and he began to speak, praising god. The neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it asking, "What then is this child going to be?" Fro the Lord's hand is with him.  
  
Zechariah's song  
  
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:  
  
"Praise be to the Lord, be the Lord the God of Israel because he has come and redeemed his people.  
  
He raised up a horn of salvation for us unto the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all of our days.  
  
And you my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our god, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."  
  
And the child grew and became strong in spirit; he loved in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.  
  
The birth of Jesus  
  
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) Everyone went to his own town to register.  
  
So Joseph also went too from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town off David, because he belonged to the house of the line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for him in the inn.  
  
The shepherds and the angels  
  
And there were shepherds loving out in the fields nearby; keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared before them, "Do not be afraid I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the t own of David a Savior ahs been born to you: he is the Christ. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."  
  
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying,  
  
"Glory to God in the highest and in earth to men on whom his favor rests."  
  
When the angels had let them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."  
  
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they told them about this child, they spread the word concerning what had been told about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen which were just as they had been told.  
  
Jesus presented in the temple  
  
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.  
  
When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord.) and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: a pair of doves or two young pigeons.  
  
Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting of the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him. He had revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple of courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God saying:  
  
"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all your people, a light of revelation for the gentiles, and for the glory of your people Israel."  
  
The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, "This child is destined to cause the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. A sword will pierce your own soul too."  
  
There was a prophetess Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage and then was a widow until she was eighty four. She never left the temple but worshipped night and day fasting and praying. Coming up to them that very night she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.  
  
When Joseph and Mary had done everything that required by the Law of the Lord they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of god was upon him.  
  
Luke 1 and 2:1-39  
  
The birth of Jesus Christ  
  
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  
  
After he considered this though, and angel of the Lord appeared before him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is form the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.  
  
All this took place to what the Lord has said through a prophet: "The virgin will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us."  
  
When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. He had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. She gave him the name Jesus.  
  
The visit of the magi  
  
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."  
  
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teacher's of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem of Judea," the replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:  
  
But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be a shepherd of my people Israel."  
  
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him report to me so that I too may worship him."  
  
After they had heard the king they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped in the place where the child was. When they swathe star they were overjoyed. On coming to the house the saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.  
  
Matthew 1:18-2:12  
  
What I have written here is taken directly from the Bible. This is one of the many stories that have been told in the Bible. Many times we don't understand what is said and done. We don't understand the whole reason for this season. We take for granted the fact that we have trees, holly, mistletoe, presents and etc. We have a tendency to forget what it is really about.  
  
The magi found Jesus two years after he was born. Except that he wasn't in Bethlehem he was in Nazareth. As is told to us in Luke. After they left and went another direction to their homeland King Herod that all boys under the age of two were to be killed. An angel warned Joseph in a dream. He was commanded to get up and go to the land off Egypt where they would be safe.  
  
I also promised you some history behind some of this. In the time of the Bible a young woman was considered a woman at a much younger age. She was considered grown by the time that she was thirteen. At this time they were able to take care of a household and children. They were chosen also by her husband's family and had to pay fro the brides dowry because they were taking the family help. The families back them would have extremely large families.  
  
They were also married to someone that would at least be twice their age if not three times because they needed to have someone that could support them. If they were to marry someone their own age as we do in out time they wouldn't have the financial support that they needed.  
  
As for the Law of the Lord that actually began in the time of Abraham. He was told by the Lord to circumcise all the males of the household. This was a covenant between them and God that they would always worship the Lord. The circumcision after the first time was to be done eight days after the birth of a boy because a male was to lead a household.  
  
I wish I could give you the full history of everything that was in here seeing that would take until the end of next year to explain all that happened. I wouldn't want to do that because I have several other things that I need to do between now and 2005 so I guess I won't. 


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